The first step in organizing the association is to get the re- 

 quired number of farmers to sign a paper pledging themselves 

 to furnish a given number of cows. After this pledge has 

 been secured a meeting is called, the laws of the association 

 drafted, and the officers elected. The officers select a trained 

 man to take charge of the work. This man visits each herd 

 once a month and weighs the milk of each animal in the herd 

 for one day. From the weight and test he calculates the 

 amount of fat produced for one day and estimates the amount 

 of milk and fat produced for the month. If the farmer is in- 

 terested in determining the cost of each animal, the tester 

 will aid him in finding out the amount of food each animal 

 consumes. 



Causes and Failure of Cooperative Societies. The chief 

 reasons for failure of cooperative societies in the United States 

 have been (l)lack of support, (2) improper organization, (3) 

 poor management. Those causes spring from certain natural 

 conditions. Our rural population has been steadily shifting, 

 making cooperation difficult. Our large foreign element has 

 given rise to petty prejudices and jealousies between peoples 

 of different nationalities. Our rich agricultural country has 

 tended to make us careless of small savings, the vital principle 

 in cooperative movements. Our scattered rural population 

 has made cooperation more difficult than in Europe where the 

 population is much more dense, and last but not least, the 

 spirit of independence, every man for himself, characteristic 

 of the frontier, has remained long after the frontier has 

 passed away. 



Essentials of Cooperation. (1) Cooperation can not suc- 

 ceed without local leadership which will hold the people togeth- 

 er. (2) Cooperation thrives best where the business of farm- 

 ing has become specialized ; as, for instance, dairying or fruit 

 raising rather than general farming. (3) Cooperation fails 

 unless accurate accounts are kept of cost of production and 

 management. (4) Cooperation fails if the control of the en- 

 terprise falls into the hands of a few. Repeated failures have 

 given rise to the one man one vote principle. (5) Cooperation 

 fails unless there is a spirit of loyalty and the members stick 



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